


Soon

by ThatsrightZoeyeyye



Series: NaNoWriMo 2019 (but i'm cheating a little bit) [9]
Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: "Anne had a special reason for getting up early the next day, "ghosts", Angst, But it's here, Enjoy!, I think it's pretty cool, Prompts:, i don't know where this came from, i guess, i put jane instead because i wanted to, idk - Freeform, she works for PEIP, so she set the alarm for 5 am", tgwdlm from Jane's POV, you'll have to read if you want to know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 23:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21187502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatsrightZoeyeyye/pseuds/ThatsrightZoeyeyye
Summary: For three years, she cleaned up messes. Every time a catastrophe happened, PEIP blew up the place and she came to talk to the ghosts. She gathered information, wrote reports, moved on. That was the job.They had blown Hatchetfield. PEIP orders. To avoid the infection spreading to the mainland.Jane was standing in the ruins of what had once been her home.





	Soon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starkid writes discord](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=starkid+writes+discord).

> There are mentions of Black Friday characters, but they're not spoilers, just half assed theories. If some of what I wrote ends up happening in the show, please don't mention it the comments. No spoilers guys. Be respectful.  
Anyway, here are the prompts:  
\- "ghosts" for the starkid writes discord  
\- "Anne had a special reason for getting up early the next day, so she set the alarm for 5 am." by my English teacher. I just hope she never finds this.  
Enjoy :)

Jane had a special reason for getting up early the next day, so she set the alarm for 5 am.

When it rang, she got up, making sure not to make a sound. She changed into her uniform in the dark, grabbed her badge and gun under the mattress, and the backpack she had hidden under her bed. It was filled with everything she would need for her journey: three days worth of food and water, some clothes, Andrew's notebook, the key he had given to her before he died, and a picture of her children.

Jane walked down the corridor, holding her breath every time one of the floorboards creaked. She pushed open the door to Ann and Tom's room and watched her children sleep, trying to carve into her mind the peace on their faces.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. Ann moved slightly, but she didn't wake up.

Jane sighed, closing the door quietly, and got out of her house, her home.

She spotted a tall figure across the street and walked up to her. The woman smiled kindly.

“Are you ready?” Andrew's sister asked Jane in a calm voice.

She wasn't, but she nodded anyway. She looked over her shoulder one last time and let herself be engulfed by the shadows.

ooo

“What did you tell them?” Jane asked in a small voice.

The people around the table shifted in their seats.

“Car accident.” General McNamara's voice finally rang. “You do understand that your place in this institution has become more important now, Officer Perkins-Schaffer.”

“I do,” Jane agreed, “but I feel bad leaving my children behind. They have no one left.”

“I understand that leaving your children as orphans was a difficult decision,” the General continued, “trust me, Officer, I understand love, and the matters of the heart.”

He looked at her, his eyes planted firmly in hers, a tenderness briefly flashing in his gaze, like an apology. “But sometimes, we have to follow the laws that our institutions have created for us.”

Jane nodded. She understood. McNamara stood up, and walked around the table, sighing loudly.

“You have witnessed the death of one of our best officers, Officer Andrew Shaffer, your husband. My condolences again. But you have also learnt about things that PEIP officers of your rank aren't told. You are not allowed amongst civilians anymore, Jane, I'm sorry.”

She looked up. The general truly seemed to be sad for her.

ooo

She was sitting on her bed, in the room where she would be staying. Without the man she loved, without her children. She was now a Colonel. There was a soft knock on the door, and a woman entered the room.

“Colonel Schaffer.” Jane stated, her voice even.

“You know my name, Jane,” the red-haired soldier answered, “and I am your sister-in-law.”

Jane nodded, looking away.

“Was, Stephanie, was.”

“Just because Andrew is dead doesn't mean that he wasn't my brother and your husband.”

Stephanie seemed to notice the picture in Jane's hands.

“Are they...” she breathed out hesitantly.

“Ann and Tom, yes.”

Jane handed the picture to her sister in law, and watched as a small smile made its way on her face.

“They've grown up so much,” she murmured, “last time I saw them they were so small.”

She hadn't been allowed amongst civilians for four years, every since she had been appointed Colonel. She hadn't been able to watch her niece and nephew grow, hadn't been able to talk to her brother before he died. She almost regretted it. It would have been so much easier to just work at Beanie's with her sister. If she still worked there. Stephanie hadn't been able to see Nora for four years.

ooo

To avoid confusion, people started to call Jane Colonel Perkins. It hurt a little to give up her husband's name, but both Stephanie and her had been stationed in Clivesdale, and two Schaffers was a little too much.

ooo

For three years, she cleaned up messes. She solved Andrew's cases, came to understand the cryptic notes in his notebook, came to find what the key was for. She used it to open the locker that led her to close the case, and used it to lock away her past.

Then she moved to her own cases. The mess with Grace Chastity. The mess with that Wiggly doll. Hatchetfield was often subject to messes of a certain kind. PEIP was there for that. They cleaned up the mess, erased everyone's memory of it, made them start again. That was the job.

There was only one reason she had been hired by PEIP. She wasn't made for the Army, really. She didn't like fighting. All she had wanted as a teenager was to get a stable job, a husband, kids. Somehow, she had ended up in this situation, with a more than unstable job, a dead husband, and kids she couldn't see. She was in the Intelligence Division. Every time a catastrophe happened, PEIP blew up the place and she came to talk to the ghosts. She gathered information, wrote reports, moved on. That was the job.

She talked to Grace Chastity's ghost. Talked to Alice's ghost. Talked to Uncle Willy's ghost. Talked to Linda Monroe's ghost. Talked to Hannah's ghost. The girl was Ann and Tom's age when she died. It hurt a little, but Jane tried not to overthink it too much. That was the job.

ooo

They had blown up Hatchetfield. PEIP orders. To avoid the infection spreading to the mainland.

Jane was standing in the ruins of what had once been her home, looking at the corpses of her children. Andrew's parents were there too, and some strangers. A cop, a Starbucks employee, and someone else. They were probably the ones who had infected them. If they had been infected.

McNamara had told her that everyone had been infected when he had called her. As it turned out, he had become a part of it too.

Had her children still been alive when they had blown the island?

“You couldn't have saved them,” Stephanie told her, “there was nothing you could have done.”

Jane said nothing, staring at the remains of what had been her son. She couldn't recognize him, because of the time that had passed, because of the explosion.

ooo

An hour later, she was standing in front of the Starlight Theatre. She had been told that it was where it had all begun. She looked at her watch once more. Two minutes left.

There was only one reason she had been hired by PEIP. Every time a catastrophe happened, PEIP blew up the place and she came to talk to the ghosts. She gathered information, wrote reports, moved on. That was the job.

One minute left.

Stephanie was standing next to her, shifting from one foot to the other. It had been three years since she had started working with Jane, but she still wasn't used to seeing her talking to people she couldn't see.

Jane could feel it, the tension in the air before the ghosts appeared. Five seconds left. She stood up and Stephanie clenched her jaw. She was there to protect her from outside threats, but she couldn't protect her from the ghosts.

Figures started to appear. Like every time, they didn't notice her at first, then all turned to her, drawn to her like a moth to a flame, intrigued by her. One man approached her. He was tall, with a friendly face. He was wearing a white shirt and formal pants.

“You look like Emma.” He stated.

Jane gaped at him, her eyes widening.

“You know Emma?” she asked disbelievingly.

“Yes,” he answered simply, “I wish I could have saved her.”

Jane smiled wide. This man must have been her friend. She hadn't seen her sister for years, ever since she had moved to Guatemala. She hadn't been allowed to see her before her mission, but she knew she was safe. In Clivesdale. The only survivor.

“We saved her!” Jane exclaimed, her smile growing bigger. “She's safe, she's in Clivesdale!”

“Oh,” the man said, softly, looking disappointed “then she cannot be saved.”

Jane frowned, unable to process his words. What did he mean?

“Her apotheosis, she missed it.”

Jane thought she was starting to understand, but she was too shocked to truly realize the meaning of his words.

“Just let it out,” he hummed softly. Every other ghost was staring at him.

“Let it out,” he sang.

“Let it out.” a hundred voices chanted.

She took a step back, then her body froze in horror.

ooo

Stephanie watched as Jane talked alone, as she told an invisible figure about Emma. Then she saw her frown, and freeze. She saw her breath catch in her throat, saw her take a step back.

Then she saw her smile, saw the grin that lifted the corners of her lips up to her ears, like the Cheshire cat. She saw her sister-in-law turn her head to look at her, saw the devilish glow in her eyes, saw the blood that streamed from her nostrils. Was it blood? It couldn't be blood, Stephanie realized, it was blue.

Then she heard her growl.

“Let it out.”

ooo

“Is she ready to go?” Stephanie asked. The nurse nodded. Poor soul, she had no idea. Her apotheosis would be upon her soon. Stephanie could feel the excitement of all of her siblings as they prepared for the new plan. First, Emma. Then, the world. A million voices buzzed in her mind like one. The thrill, the euphoria. _Soon_, they all thought, _soon_. And the turmoil of emotion calmed down, settled on the edge of her mind, seeping right under her skin, ready to burst out into song. _Soon_.

“How's that leg doing Kelly?” Stephanie asked. She disliked talking. She would have preferred to sing her heart out, enquire for the state of the human's leg in a choreographed number. There was no passion in talking. But she needed to control that urge for now, for the good of the Hive. _Soon_, they all thought.

“Uh, yeah,” Emma sighed, “why did it have to be Kelly? I liked my old name. Couldn't you at least pick something similar like Emily or-” she looked sad. Stephanie was ready to crush her. The anticipation was burning into her mind, their mind, but she managed to keep a straight face. _Soon_. “That's all I could think of.”

“That's a negative, Kelly. You'll get used to it.” _Soon_. “In the meantime, we can't have anyone make any connection between you and Emma Perkins, who perished in the Hatchetfield catastrophe.”

“Yeah, that was the other thing,” Emma complained, “you couldn't even give me a cool death? Like, Emma Perkins, her flesh melted off while she was shielding children. You know, something heroic.”

_It won't matter soon, _Stephanie thought, _soon_, they all thought.

“I mean, it was my idea to destroy the meteor, after all.”

She felt grief. Stephanie had never known Mother, but she lived in each and every one of them, leading them. Everything was Emma's fault. If it weren't for her, Stephanie would have known Mother.

“And Uncle Sam is not ungrateful.” Stephanie said, itching to sing, her hands clasped behind her back so she could resist the need to dance.

“Here Kelly, this is for you.” She handed the human an envelope. False documents. They weren't any good, they didn't need to be. It was just there to make her feel safe. The more to destroy her, it was all her fault Mother had died. _Soon_.

“Inside, you'll find a new passport, social security card, and the deed to a five-acre plot of land in Colorado. Green. Fertile. Hell of a place to grow some cannabis.”

“Thanks,” the human smiled. Oh, how good it would feel to watch her suffer. _Soon_.

“Um, Colonel Schaffer,” Emma called, “you're sure there were no other survivors?”

She felt a pang of defeat. Her old body acting against her will. They had told her it would go away with time. Soon, she would be fully a part of the Hive. _Soon, soon, soon._

“We've been through this, Kelly. There were no survivors.”

She felt the glee of the Hive. They had won. There were no survivors.

“Save for one pocket-sized squirrel we found burrowed in the chest of a local wood worker.”

“Awww!” the human exclaimed, “Peanuts! I'm glad he got out of there.”

“Now that is a story we can disclose to the public.”

_Make her trust you_, they were all thinking, _make her feel safe._

“In the wake of a tragedy like this, little bit of good news goes a long way.”

Nobody would ever know about Peanuts. Soon, the apotheosis would take the whole planet. _Soon, soon, soon_.

“Yeah, it's just um-” the human started, “Paul.”

Paul was one of them now. It was thanks to him that the Hive had reached Clivesdale, gateway to the rest of the world.

“He was a good man, Kelly.” She meant that part. Paul was their savior. “If not for his sacrifice, the outbreak would have spread to the mainland. It was contained in Hatchetfield, but if it had gotten loose here in Clivesdale, there would be no stopping it.”

There was no stopping it. They would win. _Soon_.

“Good luck, Kelly.” Stephanie said, “good luck with the pot farm.”

There was a bounce in her step as she made her way to the door. _SOON_.

“Oh!” That was it, the highlight of the show. “One more thing, you'll be escorted to Colorado by a mister Ben Bridges. He's waiting outside.”

She would be so happy. So much more devastated after that. _Soon_.

“Oh, I don't know any Ben Bridges.”

“Well according to our records, you two were very good friends. People would like to say it'd become something more.”

Soon, they would be so much more. They would share a mind, with all of them. The Hive. _Soon_.

She walked out as Paul walked in.

Soon.

ooo

Jane felt the moment when Emma entered the Hive.

_Welcome_, a million of voices told her as one.

_You're one of us now._

_You're us._

_And now, the entire world._

Emma's mind screamed with them. She was them.

_Hello, Emma_, Jane's voice rang amongst them.

The Hive united everyone. All of them.

With the Hive, they could be happy. They would make the whole world happy.

_Soon,_ Emma's mind sang.

_Soon_, they all sang.

_Soon._

**Author's Note:**

> Again, no Black Friday spoilers.  
I hope you liked it, I liked writing it. Tell me what you think in the comments :)


End file.
